If I am going to be completely honest, I dread the start of the new year. It is certainly not because I do not want to get out of this year, but I am just so apprehensive. I do not feel like I can live through another year like the one we are leaving behind and I know I am not alone.
2020 has not only been the hardest year in terms of loss of loved ones, it also has brought about tons of uncertainty. Being told you cannot go to work, being told to stay home and not leave unless it is necessary, is so foreign to us as Americans. Being told to stay home from work after living through the hardest time of my life, was a really hard blow. As many people will understand, when grieving someone like I do Nolan, going to work and keeping a “routine”, would have been the best thing for all of us. That for so many was simply not an option.
We also faced the issue of going back to work and trying to get back to living in the real world again. It wasn’t easy! It was harder than I could have imagined and I never want to have to redo any of the scenarios of this year ever again. That being said, what will happen in the upcoming year? We have new leadership and do not know if we will be sent home again, or what kind of “different”’we will face. I don’t like “different”. I want some “familiar”!
While listening to the sermon this morning, I began to catch of glimmer of hope. I sat in church between my daughter, Alexis, and my friend, Amy. All 3 of us have had a year like no other. We are all desperate for hope and healing in the new year. I sat there thinking, our only hope is Jesus. At one point in the service, Pastor Bill asked that we stop and just all simply thank God for what we have. I think it is something we just do not do enough of in our lives.
While we are eager to leave this year behind us, we should stop and thank God for what He has brought us through. Never for one second, did He leave us. Even when we were living the hardest moments of our lives, He was there.
The sermon this morning was titled, “You don’t have to fear the new year”… and I am thankful even though I feel apprehensive at times, I do not fear. Hebrews 13:6 says, So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (ESV). We have a helper, and that helper is the Holy Spirit. He never one time walks away and leaves us alone.
In a time of great uncertainty, let’s just focus on the One who never leaves or forsakes us. He is there when we grieve, when we lose our job, when we just feel like we cannot go on…He is there. Knowing that, has gotten me through a heartache like no other. I have to stop and thank God for all the little things. I thank Him for the blessings of two precious babies that have kept me going this year as well. Just like I have mentioned before, the words of one of my sweet friends, the Lord knows what we need before we even need it.
The Bible does not say we will never have hard times, it says when we have hard times. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. (Isaiah 43:2, ESV).
I will be with you…As you enter 2021, remember who will always be with you.
Digging Deeper 